The Power of the Voice Recent researchinto the quantum nature of the universe supports longheld beliefs in the healing power of the human voice,says Teya Skae.

Didyou know that the human voice is a mirror of our inneruniverse? Our voice reveals our moods, fears, intentions,hopes, tensions, thoughts, and desires - in effect,it reflects who we truly are. The sound of the voicecan tell us more about a person than words alone canever communicate.

There are those who believe our voice not only reflectsour state of mind, moods and emotions, but also seeit as an expression of our soul. One such person isKarina Schelde, a Danish-born, professionally trainedsinger turned sound/voice therapist, who has been pioneeringher knowledge of sound in healing workshops around theworld since 1985. Her book, Soul Voice, is a practicaland transformational resource that provides effectiveexercises based on her own method which teaches us howto use our voice to heal and empower ourselves. Allour issues first arise in our subconscious mind whichwill always disrupt our energy flow as a result. Whenour energy flow is disrupted we experience feelingsand tension. It is our feelings that influence the

biochemical/molecular structures in our body, and whenwe find a way to release emotional blocks in the subconscious,we naturally experience liberation and promote selfhealing as a result. Using our voice allows us to directlyaccess the powerful, stored, but often suppressed anddenied, feelings in our body and energy field. How doesthis happen? Very simply, that sound has a powerfulability to break through barriers, through crystallisationsof thought forms and belief systems and thus penetratethe subconscious mind and release these blockages, evenphysical blockages.

According to Schelde, "Everything that has happenedto you in your life culminates in the tone and the pitchof your voice and 80 per cent of what we say is deliveredby the tone of the voice." So the tone of our voiceis more important than the actual words we use to communicate.Words may lie, but the tone reflects our true intention,whether it is expressed or suppressed. Far more thanthe face even, the voice reveals our character and personality.Our voice remembers what we have forgotten through consciousor unconscious suppression of our painful memories andexperiences.

This is because our emotions are contained in the vibrationof our voice. When we listen to a person's voice itmay attract, repel, manipulate or give us a feelingof release or excitement and we respond to it on anintuitive, emotional level. The voice tells us wherewe are at, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Soundshapes the universe as sound is a vibration, a frequency,and we now know from quantum physics that the wholeuniverse is made up of vibrational fields of energy.It follows, then, that everything in the universe ismade up of vibrations including our physical bodies.What is sound? Sound is a vibration, a specific frequency.

As Pythagoras said, "A stone is frozen music".This very wise teacher who lived in ancient Greece (c.580-500 BC) knew how to work with sound. He taught hisstudents how certain musical chords and melodies produceddefinite responses within the human organism. He demonstratedthat the right sequence of sounds, played musicallyon an instrument, could change behaviour patterns andaccelerate the healing process.

What Pythagoras taught some 2500 years ago has strucka note of resonance with some exciting recent research.

According to CBC News of Friday, March 9, 2007 (http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2007/03/09/science-nervessound-20070309.html#skip300x250),our nerves do not transmit electricity as we were taughtto believe; they in fact transmit sound. The reportquotes findings from a team of Copenhagen Universityresearchers who argue that biology and medical textbookswhich say nerves relay electrical impulses from thebrain to the rest of the body are incorrect.

"For us as physicists, this cannot be the explanation,"says Thomas Heimburg, an associate professor at theuniversity's Niels Bohr Institute. "The physicallaws of thermodynamics tell us that electrical impulsesmust produce heat as they travel along the nerve, butexperiments find that no such heat is produced."Heimburg, an expert in biophysics who received his PhDfrom the Max Planck Institute in Goettingen, Germany- where biologists and physicists often work togetherin a rare arrangement - developed the theory with CopenhagenUniversity's Andrew Jackson, an expert in theoreticalphysics.

According to the traditional explanation of molecularbiology, an electrical pulse is sent from one end ofthe nerve to the other with the help of electricallycharged salts that pass through ion channels and a membranethat sheathes (protects) the nerves. That membrane ismade up of lipids and proteins. Heimburg and Jacksonexplain that sound propagation is a much more likelyexplanation. Although sound waves usually weaken asthey spread out, a medium with the right physical propertiescould create a special kind of sound pulse or "soliton"that can propagate without spreading or losing strength.The physicists say because the nerve membrane is madeof a material similar to olive oil that can change fromliquid to solid through temperature variations, theycan freeze and propagate the solitons.

In summary, this research suggests we transmit sound,not electrical impulses, as a means of communicatingwith our organs and glands. Yet, this is not an entirelynew body of evidence. In the 1960s, a Swiss scientistDr Hans Jenny, demonstrated how sound shapes matter.

Dr Jenny placed sand granules onto a metal plate andthen played a few bars of notes from composers suchas Mozart and Bach. The sand granules formed constantshapes to the vibration of the sound and extraordinarypatterns were observed. Dr Jenny then went further withhis observation, saying that sound has a direct influenceon our human biology and thus influences our health.This is because every cell in our body has its own vibrationalfrequency. Human cells are composed of atoms and moleculesthat resonate according to their mutual harmonies. Manycells together form tissues and organs that are partof a biological system. This system then vibrates accordingto new harmonies. So, from this research, we can saythat sound sculpts us. All our tissues, organs, bonesand cells are made up of sound. We are held togetherby sound as each part of our body has its own sonicfrequencies which travel and pulsate like a wave, inan inhalation and exhalation of breath.

In practical terms then, this school of thought suggestsany part of the person that is out of balance, whetherit manifests as headaches or back pain, weight problemsor fatigue, emotional, mental or spiritual problems,can respond to healing with sound.

Scientist Fabien Maman has done extensive researchin music and sound and has proven that the voice hasthe ability to bring us into what he calls our "crystalclear self". In Hindu tradition, all things havetheir own hidden and secret sound. It teaches that ourvoice is as unique as our fingerprints. Our voice hasa soul print that we have been trying to come into contactwith since birth.

As emotions affect our body's chemical structure, weare called to learn how to balance our emotional bodyby using our own voice as a self healing modality. Dissonantsounds, for example, are an excellent conductor forbringing us into contact with the emotional body, aswell as releasing any false beliefs and negative programming.When we expand our vocal range, we are also expandingour view of life and we are transcending our self imposedlimiting beliefs about our true Self.

The human voice is one of the most powerful tools availableto humankind. Every word we speak carries the tone ofour sound as an instrument of communication and selfhealing. Understanding how to tune and use this instrumenteffectively shifts not only our own consciousness, butalso that of those who receive (hear) our sounds.

Sound healing is an ancient healing tool. Sound hasthe ability to penetrate the cells of the body, theconscious and the unconscious mind, the seen and theunseen. It can travel across space and time. Sound ispowerful, yet gentle and effective, and has the powerto correct any condition, because it is a vibration."There is a longing in human beings today to fullyopen up the throat chakra," says Karina Schelde,"to communicate the truth and come into masteryof self expression. There is a cry, a call deep withinour hearts that wants to be heard. There is a longingfor the liberation of the voice and soul - in this wayrediscovering the grandeur of who we truly are - a forceof the highest vibration and creation."

She supports what many psychologists say, that theemotional shutdowns we carry in the throat are huge.Our grief and anger for example, that are not expressed,cause illnesses and blockages. If we are able to releasethese powerful emotions by using our voice, we are,in fact, releasing that pain and blockage in our body.

As a clinical kinesiologist, I work with people whohave chronic back pain, hip, neck and shoulder injuries.I felt inspired to use Schelde's Soul Voice processon a client who has lived with ongoing hip problemsfor over 20 years. Guiding her to release only the soundsthat felt natural and effortless to her and using myown voice along with her, she went into a form of wailingjust as if she were a little girl of five left all alonein the darkness of the forest. It was incredible towitness how this woman's voice, normally so controlledand poised, took her to the core of her hip pain.

The intense suppressed grief that her inner child hadheld for all these years was the key to finally releasingthis emotional block causing pain and muscle tensionin her hip. After some minutes of integration, she felta distinct adjustment take place within her pelvic regionand the pain subsided. Some people might see this asa miracle; I would see it as accessing our truth withthe power of our own voice.

In essence, sound is a powerful tool for healing andtransformation, and it is much more powerful and effectivewhen each of us uses our own voice instead of to justlistening to CDs alone. When we use our own voice, weare accessing our direct source of power, our suppressedemotions and the essence of our soul. This happens alot more quickly than listening to music or someoneelse's voice, as our voice contains everything aboutus. Using other people's voices or sounds, as therapeuticas they may be, would not have the same organic effect.Our voice reflects all parts of our being, includingour soul. For this reason, it is a priceless tool foranyone who wants to experience their true self and livean inspired life. Using our voice in this way makesus better at communicating, clearer, happier, more aliveand more present in our life. It touches us in placeswe haven't visited before, as the voice also containsour untapped potential.

Our voice is our natural source of power and liberationbecause it helps us to remember and recognise our truenature in the struggle of our human experience. Ourvoice longs to be explored with trust, love and acceptanceof what we are here to experience in our life.